The S&P 500 index is up 31% over the past year, but there are several top companies with bright prospects that are poised to deliver more gains. If you have an extra $1,000 to invest, putting that money to work in a well-selected group of growth stocks could work wonders for your savings goals down the road.
To get you started, read why three Motley Fool contributors believe Amazon (AMZN 1.43%), RH (RH +1.61%), and Shopify (SHOP 2.62%) could grow your money for years to come.
This winning stock's story is far from over
Jennifer Saibil (Amazon): Amazon has already created wild shareholder wealth for those who invested early enough. It's been one of the best stocks to ever own on the stock market, and it's up 82% over the past year alone.
NASDAQ: AMZN
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But there's so much more to come. Amazon is a forever stock, and it has many opportunities coming at it from its different businesses.
It's still the king of e-commerce that started the whole story, and e-commerce continues to increase as a percentage of total retail sales. Amazon is better positioned than any other company to benefit from this organic growth driver. It already accounts for more than a third of all U.S. e-commerce, and no other company comes anywhere close to its market share. It keeps upgrading its systems to improve and keep a wide distance from competitors. It's getting more deliveries to more customers overnight, and it's adding millions of products so shoppers don't have to go anywhere to get what they need.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) similarly has a leading position in cloud computing, and it's launching powerful generative AI tools that keep it competitive. It's the preferred solution for high-profile companies like Walt Disney and Verizon Communications, and it has a strong pipeline of new customers and expanded deals. AWS is a high-margin business that accounted for 54% of total operating income in the 2023 fourth quarter.
It's working on developing other new businesses, such as advertising, its fastest-growing segment. Total revenue increased 14% year over year, while advertising was up 27%. It's also a high-margin business that helps pad profits, and CEO Andy Jassy said it's "still early days."
Even if you've missed Amazon's gains until now, you can still buy in today and enjoy years of growth.
A proven winner turning the corner
Jeremy Bowman (RH): It's been a rough couple of years for RH, the high-end home furnishings company formerly known as Restoration Hardware, but there are signs that it is finally turning the corner on what CEO Gary Friedman called "the most challenging housing market in three decades."
Recent results have also suffered with net income down sharply over the last year, but that sets the company up for a recovery, and Friedman predicted that RH would gain significant market share this year.
2024 is set to be a transformative year for the company as it is launching its "most compelling product transformation and platform expansion in history."
NYSE: RH
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RH has also been aggressively repurchasing its stock to take advantage of the recent sell-off, which also prepares it well for a recovery. In 2023, it reduced its shares outstanding by 20%, and over the last two years, shares outstanding have fallen by 35%.
The company continues to expand its physical retail footprint, unlike most of its peers, with plans to add five new design galleries in North America, and two more internationally. The company is also doubling down on marketing in anticipation of a recovery, doubling its sourcebook circulation and increasing advertising in design publications.
RH has outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin over its history, and it seems to be entering another growth cycle as it steps up its marketing efforts and benefits from an expected decline in interest rates and a recovery in the housing market.
With a return to growth expected and a substantial decline in shares outstanding, RH's profits are likely to soar over the next few years.
Shopify's growth story keeps getting better
John Ballard (Shopify): The leading online shopping and payments platform has strung together several strong earnings reports. The stock is up 73% over the last 12 months, but with the company starting to widen its offering, it could enter a lucrative stretch of growth to reward shareholders.
NASDAQ: SHOP
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Shopify is not just a platform helping businesses set up an online storefront. It also continues to introduce new features to the Shop App, which serves as a mobile storefront for small businesses and a powerful shopping assistant for consumers. The app reached $100 million in gross merchandise volume in a single month during the fourth quarter.
Shopify's point-of-sale solutions for physical retail locations is another emerging growth catalyst. The company's offline gross merchandise volume (GMV) grew 28% year over year in Q4 2023 -- faster than Shopify's total GMV, which grew 23%.
Another opportunity is business-to-business (B2B) solutions. Shopify Collective is a new service that allows merchants to source products from other brands and ship them directly to customers. B2B is a $450 billion opportunity and management expects it to be a key driver of growth in 2024.
With these services, Shopify is casting a wider net to win not only more share of e-commerce spending, but increasingly, the entire commerce market, too. The stock offers lots of upside over the long term.
